Catch Me
by theorangegirlx
Summary: AU fic. Dani is a pop star. Santana is a mother first and a lawyer second. Their paths cross and this is what happens.
1. Chapter 1

**This has been in my head for days. I want to continue but we'll see what happens :)**

**I own nothing except my unhealthy obsession for all things Demi Lovato at the moment.**

* * *

Santana POV

I was ready in a perfect amount of time to get to my cousin's engagement party early so I could see all the necessary family, schmooze for an hour and get out before I had to spend time with the bimbos that Mia called friends. My three and a half year old looked adorable in his tiny tux and I have no doubt that it would take all of 5 minutes for it to end up a mess once we got there.

As I lead him out the front door of our apartment, I heard the elevator arrive and watched as he ran over towards it. I turned around just as the doors opened and someone started walking out with a large moving box covering most of their upper body.

"Bailey, move out of the way"

My kid was about to trip this person over and it was so not what I needed right now. I saw the box start to topple, however the owner managed to stabilise it. Bailey had jumped out of the way already, but the box owner put the box down just outside the elevator. It was then I was able to see the other two boxes in the elevator.

I was about to apologise when my words caught in my throat. This girl was stunning. She had her blonde hair up with strands falling around her face. She looked like she might have a small amount of eye makeup on but the freckles on her face made me think she wasn't wearing any concealer.

She turned towards Bailey and grinned "Hey little man, what's your name?"

Bailed looked at me to see what he should do. I smiled at him and he looked back at her and said his name shyly.

"Nice to meet you Bailey, I'm Dani"

"Den" he repeated smiling. "Close enough" she grinned again and turned towards me.

I had been staring at the interaction the entire time and hadn't said a word, when she looked me in the eye, the only thing I could manage to do was point at the long closed elevator doors and mutter "Your stuff.."

"Oooooooh" she turned and pressed the button hoping that it hadn't left our floor. The doors opened, her boxes still present, she moved in and picked up another one, moving it in to the hall and going to grab the last box.

"Do you need some help?" I said.

"Oh no, it's okay, you're clearly on your way out on a hot date"

"I don't mind, I don't want to risk someone else's kid nearly knocking you over" We made eye contact at that moment and both smiled.

"Okay thanks, I'm just moving in to number 15" she said as she walked away. I grabbed a box and ushered Bailey down the hall after her.

She unlocked her door and lead us in to her apartment. "Just put that down anywhere, I'm just gonna run and grab the last box" she said and was back out the door.

Bailey had chosen this moment to lay on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. The kid struggles to understand that you can't watch clouds from indoors. I glanced around her apartment. The living area was all set up, a bunch of modern art littering the walls, candles on her mantle and a few photos around the place. It was then I noticed a framed cd with what looked like an album cover with her featured in the middle. I heard her come in behind me "Uh.. Hi" she said awkwardly.

"Hey, sorry I was just.. " I pointed up at the frame, a bit unsure of what I was pointing to.

"It's okay"

"When did you move in? This place is all set up"

"Officially today, but I've been moving stuff in gradually over the last couple of weeks. I've been really busy with work and I didn't want to start staying here until I had made it somewhat homey"

"Well it looks really great"

"Thanks" she grinned again. That grin.

"I'm Santana, by the way" I offered her my hand.

"Dani." She smiled while shaking my hand and then motioned to Bailey. "What's he doing?"

I giggled "Looking at the clouds"

"Aaaaah" she responded and walked over laying down next to him "See anything good?" She asked.

"I can't see anything" he said frowning.

"Maybe it's too late in the day for cloud watching"

I looked at my watch, realising almost 30 minutes had passed since I left my apartment. She noticed this and jumped up.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, you were on your way out and now I'm keeping you" she said getting herself flustered.

I couldn't help but find it adorable. Bailey had stood up behind her and was staring at us.

"It's no problem, really, it's a family thing and it doesn't officially start for another hour"

"Do you attend all family events in a designer gown looking like that?" She said.

I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not and my uncertainty clearly showed on my face.

"You look great."

"Uh... Thanks. And no, I don't, but it's New York City and my cousin works for Vogue. It was wear this or listen to her complain about how I ruined her perfect engagement party by wearing something from TopShop"

She laughed and then looked slightly offended "Hey, what's wrong with TopShop?" I laughed along with her.

"Nothing, unless you work for Vogue."

"Fair point"

"So I should probably get out of your hair so you can finish moving in" I moved to grab Bailey and headed towards the door.

"Thank you so much again for your help" I turned back towards her.

"No problem. If you need anything else, I'm in Apartment 13"

She smiled and kneeled down to Bailey's level and straightened up his suit.

"Bye Mr Bailey, have a good time"

"Bye Den" he waved.

She got back up and looked me in the eye.

"Bye Santana."

"Bye"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**I have a few ideas for the next couple of chapters so hopefully I can post those over the next few days**

* * *

Santana POV

Bailey and I had just picked up our Sunday breakfast and walked back in to our building when I saw Dani again. If I'm honest, I haven't stopped thinking about her since last night and finding out what I did at the engagement party was only part of it.

She hadn't noticed us and was pulling a bunch of junk mail out of her letter box. She was wearing a running outfit and my excellent detective skills deduced she had just came back from a run.

"Den!" Bailey yelled, causing her to turn toward us.

"Hey guys"

I was more prepared this morning than when she first made contact with me so I managed to make a full sentence.

"Morning Dani, how are you?"

"I'm good, except I didn't realise how much junk gets delivered in New York City" she said, gesturing to the rubbish in her hand.

"Yeah, everyone has something to sell you in this city. You just need to get one of those stickers for your mailbox and most of it should stop"

"Oh yeah, smart, thanks"

She threw everything in the garbage and we started towards the elevator.

"So, out running on a Sunday morning? You're keen."

"I was up early, I thought I'd take advantage. What about you?"

"Bailey and I have a very strict Sunday routine which starts with bagels from Harry's down the street" I gestured to the bag I was holding.

We had arrived on our floor and were suddenly already standing in front of my door.

"That's cute. How was your party?"

"It was good actually. Do you wanna come in? There's plenty to share" I held up the bag again.

I don't know where that came from but she didn't seem shocked by the invitation so I'm guessing it wasn't the wrong thing to do.

"That would be great, but I'm all sweaty"

"I don't mind if you don't" I smiled at her then unlocked my front door.

* * *

After setting Bailey up with his bagel at the end of the table, I moved to prepare coffee for Dani and I.

"So tell me more about your party" she said while setting the rest of the bagels up for us on the table.

"As I said, it was good. I don't really get to dress up like that often so it's fun when I do. Bailey spent the entire night charming all of my cousin's friends with his dance moves."

She laughed and then looked at my son "I can totally see that." She hesitated a bit before continuing. "Don't take this the wrong way but your husband must have super strong genes, he doesn't really look like you"

"Uh.. I don't.." I looked at Bailey with his blonde hair and fair skin. "I'm not married"

She looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Sorry, I didn't meant to assume. I tend to speak before I think sometimes and end up in awkward situations like this one"

"It's okay, really. Bailey isn't biologically mine" I said while still looking at my son.

"Sorry again. You don't have to tell me. Let's talk about something else." She said then went quiet. I handed her a coffee and moved to sit at the table.

"Okay. What about you? According to my niece, you're a bit of a big deal."

"What? What do you mean?" She looked even more terrified now than when she thought she offended me asking about my non-existent husband.

"Relax, I didn't tell her I knew you. Bailey wouldn't shut up last night about 'Den' and my niece asked what he was talking about. I have to admit, I was a little confused after seeing that mounted album in your apartment but I just mentioned that we saw an interview with Dani Taylor and he had been saying 'Den' ever since."

"Why didn't you just say you have a new neighbour named Dani?" She asked, looking confused.

I raised my eyebrow then laughed at myself. "That would have made more sense. I guess I was curious about you. I knew that if anyone knew anything about you it would be my niece. She's pretty in to her music."

She laughed with me which was a relief as I realised how stupid I sounded. "So you're not in to music?"

"No I am. Well, I was. I don't have a lot of time to catch up on current stuff" I admitted sheepishly.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing." She grinned.

"Mama!" Bailey yelled. He had been enjoying his conversation with himself while eating but was clearly done with his bagel.

"You done kiddo?"

"Yup! Movies?" He asked.

"Why don't you go and pick some while Dani and I finish eating."

He climbed off his seat and ran out of the room.

I looked at Dani who had gone quiet again.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable talking about my niece and your job. I swear she has no idea that I know you, she just gushed about how talented you are and how big you've gotten over the last couple of years. It just shocked me that you live in a 12th floor apartment building when you could probably buy the entire building. And you were out running this morning alone. It just doesn't make sense that you're her. Dani Taylor." I realise I'm rambling and quickly shut up looking down at the table. I'm digging myself a deeper hole.

I chance a glance back at Dani, hoping she isn't looking at me like the complete idiot I feel like right now.

I'm surprised to see her with a small smile watching me.

"At this point, the paps think I'm still staying at the hotel I was at for the past few weeks. That's why I went running this morning. I probably could buy a building, but what would I do with it? I'm just one person. I give it maybe a week or two before I start getting hassled again. New York seems to be easier than LA to get lost in. It took less than 24 hours before they were waiting outside the house I bought in Malibu."

"How long have you been in New York?"

"About 6 weeks. I came here for some press a few months back and decided I wanted to try living here for a while. I don't have much going on at the moment besides recording for my new album which I can do anywhere so.. here I am"

"Definitely not what I expected when I saw you in the hall yesterday."

She laughed at this. "Are you trying to say my moving clothes are not becoming of a pop star?"

It was this moment that Bailey came back in with his DVDs. He bypassed me and went straight to Dani.

"Den, which one first?" He had brought in The Lion King, A Bug's Life and Cars.

"Uhmmmm.. I don't know bud, which one is your favourite?"

"Cars!" He said and pointed at the DVD.

"Okay why don't you watch that one" she said.

He nodded then grabbed her hand trying to pull her in to the living area.

"I'm thinking he wants you to watch his movies with him" I laugh at the look on her face.

I address my son, not wanting to put Dani in a situation where she has to tell him no.

"Mijo, why don't you go and get comfy and I will come in and put your movie on in a minute"

He looked sceptical but let go of Dani's hand and headed back the way he came with his DVDs.

"Don't feel like you have to stay, I'm sure you have a bunch of stuff to do." I said even though a part of me wanted her to stay.

"I'm just catching up with some friends for lunch at 1 so I'm fine to hang out, if it's okay with you. I would just really like to have a shower and get out of this gear" she pointed to herself.

I had completely forgotten I had forced her to come eat breakfast after her run and she was still in her sweaty clothes.

"Oh. Right. Well why don't I clean this up and stall him while you go home and grab a shower"

"That sounds good, just give me 15 minutes" She said as she jumped up from her chair.

I turned towards the sink with our dishes. "I've never met a girl that showers that quick so I'll give you 30" I threw over my shoulder.

"Very funny, I'll see you in 15!" I heard before my front door slammed behind her.

* * *

10 minutes later, I had finished the dishes and was trying to convince Bailey that Dani had just gone home to shower and hadn't completely left him hanging. He was starting to get a bit grumpy and I knew this was coming after being out so late last night. The front door interrupted his tantrum and he ran over to answer it. Besides the fact we live in New York, the only problem with this is that he can't actually reach the handle. I walked over behind him and opened the door for Dani. Bailey put his hands up straight away wanting her to pick him up, which she did. I guess he's got a new favourite.

We walked back to the living room and Dani sat on the couch with Bailey in her lap. I went about putting the movie on and sat down beside them on the couch. Bailey was talking animatedly to Dani and it was clear by her face that she was only understanding half of what he was saying. He was normally pretty good with words but when he got excited it was full on babble.

The music started to play for the movie and Dani looked at me in confusion.

"I thought we were watching Cars?"

"Oh I probably should have told you. You can't trust Bailey's favourites. We do movies every Sunday and the one he picks at breakfast is never the first movie we end up watching. We've watched The Lion King first every week for the last month though so I guess that's something."

She laughed and then went back to watching the movie with Bailey. I tried to focus on the movie instead of the pretty girl beside me. It was not easy.

It took about 30 minutes before I heard Bailey's tiny snores. What surprised me though was that Dani looked as though she had fallen asleep as well. I decided to just leave the movie on and let myself get lost in my thoughts. This was the most bizarre situation.

Before I knew it, the credits were rolling. I checked the clock behind the tv, noticing it was 1130. Dani mentioned having plans at 1 so as much as I hated to do it, I knew I should wake her up.

I kneeled down in front of the couch intending to move Bailey to his bed before waking her up but as soon as I started to pull him away from her, she opened her eyes and looked straight at me.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep"

"It's fine, stay there, I'm just moving Bailey to his room" I said, then picked him up, leaving her on my couch.

I had just finished tucking him in to his bed when I noticed her standing in the doorway. Her eyes were on the framed picture above Bailey's bed.

"That's Bailey's mom, Brittany"

"Oh, are you guys...?"

"She died" I interrupted her.

"Oh, I'm sorry" She looked sad for both of us.

"She was my best friend, she died during childbirth. I was meant to be his godmother and then.. " I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes. "Now I'm his mom"

"What about his dad?"

"He was a deadbeat. He disappeared when he found out Britt was pregnant. Probably a good move, he was a jerk."

I didn't talk about this much. Most of the people in my life knew the story so I never had to explain. I was starting to get a bit upset.

Dani looked as though she was gonna move towards me and say something else when I interrupted her.

"I know you said you had plans for 1 so I thought I should wake you up."

She looked like she wanted to continue the previous conversation before thinking better of it.

"Uh yeah. Thanks. I should probably go. Getting ready to actually leave the house takes longer than 15 minutes" she smiled and I could tell she was trying to break the tension that had crept in to the room.

I smiled back. "I'll walk you out"

We got to the door and she turned back to me.

"Thanks for breakfast. And for letting me hang out with you and Bailey."

"No problem. We do the same thing every Sunday, so feel free to join us anytime"

"I might just do that. I'll see you around."

"Bye"

I was about to close the door when her hand came back through the gap. I pulled the door back quickly.

"Whoah! I almost crushed your hand"

She laughed at me again. "That could cause issues when playing my guitar"

I was still in shock at nearly smashing her hand so I didn't say anything, I just looked at her.

"I was just wondering if I could get your number? You know, in case I need anymore help while settling in to the building"

I wasn't buying her reason but I couldn't bring myself to say no.

She pulled out her phone and I recited the number for her.

"Awesome! Thanks! I'll text you my number" And she was off again.

What just happened?


	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter but 2 chapters in one day. Thought it was important to establish the story a little more**

* * *

Santana POV

Bailey woke up from his nap about 45 minutes after Dani left. We watched another movie and then spent the afternoon building a craft dinosaur that Bailey had seen on tv the week before. Thank god for my secretary, Gabby, because I have no idea where I would have got half the stuff from. Sundays are so different to all other days of the week, it's the one day I just get to be his Mami, instead of everything else I do during the week. I was thinking about the week ahead when I heard my phone chime indicating a new text message. I assume it's Gabby checking if I want coffee in the morning.

From: Unknown  
This is my number. - Dani

I smiled and added her number to my contacts before replying.

To: Dani  
I was wondering when I'd hear from you. How was lunch?

I hit send and threw my phone down before heading to refill my cup of tea. Bailey was on the floor playing with his blocks but he looked at me when my phone chimed again as I walked back in.

From: Dani  
Boring. I love my friends but I don't need to spend 3 hours talking about why your boyfriend won't move in with you. I need a really long bath and a good book. What did you guys get up to?

To: Dani  
We built a dinosaur. It was a pretty good one too until Bailey decided to go all Godzilla with it on his blocks and snapped it's legs off. The half an hour of crying that followed will make him think twice before doing that again. I'm about to put him to bed so I'm anticipating some more yelling and crying. It's one of our Sunday rituals.

From Dani:  
I would probably let him stay up way too late if it was me. His face is impossible to say no to. I'm gonna let you go do that while I attempt to fall asleep in the bath.

To Dani:  
It's hard but you get used to it! Enjoy :)

* * *

I had been in bed for the last hour going over my notes for court in the morning. My client was being sued for not making it clear enough on their packaging that their almond body wash contained nuts. The shit that makes it to trial in this country amazes me. My phone chimed with a message. It was 930 so it could only be a couple of people. I know who I hoped it was though.

From: Dani  
How was world war 3?

To: Dani  
Haha. One of the shorter battles I've had. I think he was still worn out from last night. How was your bath? Clearly you didn't drown.

From: Dani  
Amazing. But nowhere near as long as it should have been. I'm not too great at sitting still. Sorry I just realised what time it was, hoping I didn't wake you or anything?

To: Dani  
No, still awake. Preparing for tomorrow's case.

From: Dani  
Wait, what?! You're a lawyer? How did I not know this already?

To: Dani  
We were talking about how you're a superstar instead :P

From: Dani  
Shut up! What kind of lawyer?

To: Dani  
Corporate. The most boring! No criminal stuff here.

From: Dani  
Still very cool though. You don't seem lawyery.

To: Dani  
Lawyery? Is that a thing?

From: Dani  
Yes :D

To Dani:  
So what are your plans tomorrow superstar?

From: Dani  
Ugh. Early morning radio interview and then straight to the studio. This was my last few relaxing days off for a while which is why I had to finish moving this weekend :(

To: Dani  
Awww. You should try and get to sleep early then so you're all fresh for tomorrow. Moving is exhausting.

From: Dani  
Such a mom thing to say! Okay, well I'll let you get back to your lawyery stuff :P Goodnight Santana.

To Dani:  
Goodnight.

I can't remember the last time I had such a long conversation over text message. Britt and I used to do it, but that was mainly because we were making fun of other people in the room. It was kinda fun. I still can't tell if she's flirting with me or not. Something tells me that it might just be her personality.

I pull my glasses off and prepare to go to sleep. I drift off thinking of the last 24 hours.


	4. Chapter 4

**I can't believe all the follows! Thanks guys! Hopefully I can keep up the positive feedback :)**

**Putting more Dani POV in the next few chapters.**

**Keep reviewing! It makes me happy!**

* * *

Dani POV

It's been over a week since I last saw Santana. I'd been in the studio every day since and not once did I get out before 10pm. They were such long days but I knew it would be worth it in the long run. My producer gave me an early mark today which is why I'm pulling in to the parking garage at 3pm.

Lucky for me, the paparazzi found out where I'm living a couple of days ago. Most days they've been gone from the front of the building by the time I get home but today it's still early. I ride the elevator up to the ground floor to check my mail before heading home for a much needed nap. I'm surprised when I get there to see someone has stuck a 'No Junk Mail' sign on my mailbox which makes me smile because it could only have been one person. I take a quick selfie of me and the mailbox with my thumb up and send it to Santana.

I'm halfway to my floor when my phone starts ringing and I'm happy to see it's Santana. I answer the call and head out of the elevator towards my place.

"Hey sticker fairy"

"Hey, I see you finally checked your mail"

"When did you do it? I check my mail regularly" To be honest,I think the last time I checked my mail was when I ran in to her and Bailey but I don't tell her that.

"A couple of days ago"

"Well thank you, I had far less junk today than expected"

"No problem. When I saw that you hadn't put one up, I figured I would save you the trouble"

"Who needs a building super, when I have you. Should I call you when my water pressure acts up too?" She laughs at this.

"Of course you can. And I would be happy to give you the number of our plumber"

"Smartass. How are you anyway?" I say after throwing myself on my couch.

"I'm good. Long day today, I think I'll be here until 7 or 8. What about you, I haven't seen you around?"

"Yeah it's been crazy. And the evil paps found me too"

"I noticed them out the front of the building. Bailey thought they were making a movie. Are they causing you any problems?"

"Not really. As long as I use the garage to get in and out of the building it's fine. How's Bailey? What do you do with him while you're working?"

"He's good. He's usually pretty good during the week because we keep to routine. There's a daycare at my firm where he can stay and play with the other kids. They close at 5:30 though so today he'll get to hang with me in my office til I'm done"

"Well that sounds boring" We both laugh.

"Gee thanks"

"No I'm just thinking that maybe I could come get him and we can hang out while you're finishing up at work. I have the afternoon off so we can watch movies or something until you get home"

I'm not sure why I made that offer when I really wanted to nap but she didn't respond so I took it as a no.

"Or not.."

"Dani, I appreciate the offer, I do, I just don't think it's a good idea. He can be a handful"

"It's only a couple of hours and he seemed fine when I was with you guys last week. It's not like I can disappear with him cuz the paps always find me" I joke awkwardly

"You seem really nice and Bailey likes you but I can't risk him ending up on the cover of a tabloid"

Ouch. I didn't see that coming.

"Okay.. Sorry I offered. I gotta go. "

I hang up before she has a chance to reply. So much for making new friends in New York.

* * *

Santana POV

"Okay.. Sorry I offered. I gotta go."

"Dani, wait..." She'd already hung up. I try to call her back but the phone rings out.

Dammit. I think that came out a lot harsher than it was meant to. I try to put it out of my mind and get back to work because I know once I get Bailey in here in a couple of hours, I'm not gonna get as much done.

After 20 minutes of failing to focus, I decide to just go and get Bailey. Maybe if we have an early dinner, i can settle him down and get some work done.

When I get to the day care, Bailey is playing with one of my colleagues' little girl, Sasha. I watch them for a while and it instantly puts me in a better mood.

"They're so cute aren't they?" says the daycare owner, Michelle from beside me.

Michelle is someone I consider a good friend. I had to go back to work not long after everything happened with Britt and Bailey since I had just started at the firm. Michelle was a lifesaver and still is.

"For an only child, he plays so well with the other kids. I had an older brother and I still behaved like a spoilt brat at his age. Or so my mother tells me" I laugh after saying this.

"You were a spoilt brat, that's why" she retorts

"Whatever" I smile at her.

"I thought you weren't coming to get him until closing?"

"I was in a mood and needed some Bailey cuddles"

"What's up? I know you said this latest case is a bit stressful" she asks looking concerned.

"It is.. It's not that. Remember I told you about my new neighbour? Dani?"

"I vaguely recall you gushing a little" she smirks.

"I kind of offended her on the phone earlier and she hung up on me"

"What? How did you manage that? I know you're socially awkward but surely not enough for someone to hang up on you. Well not so soon in to a friendship anyway"

"She offered to look after Bailey this afternoon and I told her no." I said, not giving up exactly what I had said.

"Well that doesn't seem like it would make someone hang up on you. I'm sure she understands that you guys just met and all."

"Yeah, that wasn't really the reason.. it's kind of a long story" I said, not wanting to give up Dani's identity.

"Okay, well I'm sure you can sort it out. You said Bailey really liked her, so maybe you can ask her to look after him while you run some errands on the weekend or something to try and fix it."

"I guess. I tried to call her back but she didn't answer. "

"Well she's your neighbour so it's not like you'll never see her again"

"You're right. I'm gonna take Bailey to get some food. Do you want me to bring you anything back?"

"No it's okay, Sean is taking me out for dinner tonight so I'm taking advantage and planning to order three courses"

I laugh at this then move towards Bailey getting his attention.

"Hey kiddo, you wanna go get some dinner?"

He looks back at Sasha and then to me with a puzzled look on his face. Sasha normally leaves daycare before him, so I think I've thrown him a little.

"Come on, say bye to Sasha" I try to convince him, hoping that making him leave his friend doesn't result in a tantrum.

He stands up and waves to Sasha while I grab his bag and we start to walk out of the daycare.

"Let me know how it goes with Dani" Michelle calls out.

"Den!" Bailey says.

"Yeah I will. " I wave to Michelle and grab Bailey's hand leaving the centre.

* * *

It's 12pm the following day and I haven't heard back from Dani at all. Not that I expected to, I haven't tried to contact her since trying after she hung up. I have a killer headache after spending most of last night awake preparing for court this morning.

Bailey was perfectly fine during our dinner last night but when we got back to my office he turned in to a terror. He really doesn't like having to spend time in my office because he gets bored easily and I'm guessing he didn't have his nap yesterday. His tantrum meant I got no work done so by the time we got home, I was in an even worse mood than after my phone call with Dani. I had every intention of knocking on her door when I got home last night, but Bailey had worked himself in to quite a state and it all seemed too hard.

After finally getting him to sleep around 9.30, I started back on the work for my case. My guess was that I fell asleep around 3, with my alarm waking me at 5:30.

The case was adjourned for a couple of weeks so at least I could probably leave work early.

It's Wednesday and my mom looks after Bailey today so I'm thinking I might see if she can watch him overnight so I can get some sleep. I pick up my phone and dial her number. She picks up straight away.

"Hey Santanita, how's work?"

"It's okay, I'll probably leave early. How's B been today?"

"An angel as always." I roll my eyes at this. He can do no wrong in her eyes.

"Oh yeah. Listen Mami, I was wondering if you could watch Bailey overnight for me?"

"Of course darling, do you have plans? You didn't mention them earlier"

"No, I'm just really tired and grumpy and I don't wanna take it out on him"

"You know Brittany's birthday is next week, you always get a bit emotional around this time of year"

I scoff at this. I know she's right but seriously. "Thanks for reminding me"

"Sorry, I just don't like to see you upset, you know that."

"I know, I'll be okay, I just really need some sleep"

"Okay well I'm happy to keep Bailey here anytime. You know he loves playing with his grandfather."

I smile thinking of the way Bailey and my dad's faces light up when they're playing.

"I know. I'll call him later to say goodnight, okay?"

"Okay sweetheart. Look after yourself. I love you."

"Love you too Mami. Bye."

I hang up and decide to head straight home. If I'm lucky, I won't run in to Dani. I don't think my brain could form the right apology at the moment.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm working a lot the next couple of days but hopefully should still get an update in somewhere :)**

**thanks again for the amazing reviews! You guys rock!**

* * *

Dani POV

I had today off and I'd been going back and forward in my head all day about contacting Santana. After I got off the phone with her, I spent an hour or so with a bruised ego and then got over myself and realised that we barely knew each other. The problem is, I felt like such an idiot for overreacting that I couldn't bring myself to call and apologise. That's how I found myself in front of her door. Now I just needed to knock.

Before I had the chance, the door opened and I was greeted with a confused and somewhat sleepy looking Santana.

"Dani, hey, I heard someone near the door, I thought you were the delivery guy"

"Uh.. No. Unless you ordered an apology?" I muster up the dorkiest grin I've got hoping it will win her over.

She smiles at me and I'm thinking I haven't completely ruined our friendship. I hear the elevator doors open and turn to see the actual delivery guy exiting with what smells like Indian food. He hands Santana her food and leaves.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner, I just wanted to chat about yesterday but I can totally come back later."

"Why don't you come in? I was feeling sorry for myself and ordered way too much food."

"Are you sure? I really don't wanna bother you."

"Just come in dork." She says pulling me in and shutting the door.

We head to the living room and Santana goes to grab some plates.

"Do you want some wine? Or a beer?"

"Wine is good. Thanks."

When she comes back we get right to eating. She's right, she definitely ordered a lot of food. It's silent and I feel like I'm the one that needs to break it.

"So about yesterday.."

She cuts me off.

"No, I'm really sorry. What I said was so uncalled for and I didn't even mean it the way it came out." When she apologises, I stop eating and give her my full attention.

"No, I completely understand. You're a mother and it's your job to protect Bailey and you barely know me."

She smiles at this which confuses me.

"Why don't we agree we're both sorry so that this doesn't go on all night." I relax at this and then she continues.

"I may not have known you for very long, Dani, but from what I can tell you're not the kind of person that would enjoy being on the cover of a tabloid magazine. And I don't think you would like it if Bailey was either. So my comment, while it may have been coming from a mama bear place, was a little harsh."

"You're right. I hate the tabloids and the paparazzi. That's a big part of why I moved to New York. I was hoping I could just continue to make music without everyone being concerned with what I was wearing on a daily basis or who I was hanging out with. I guess that's why I took what you said to heart. I would never intentionally put Bailey in any situation that would cause him harm. Or you for that matter. You're the first friend that I've made here that I don't feel like I have to pretend to be something I'm not with. That sounds a little silly but, it was refreshing that first day when you had no idea who I was."

She just stares at me after I'm done speaking. That got way too serious. She's clearly going to think I'm a freak. Awesome. Well done Dani. She then starts laughing.

"Sorry. I'm not laughing at what you said. I could just see the gears turning in your head after you finished speaking. You looked so freaked out." I'm relieved but I end up blushing so I push her shoulder to try and ease some of the tension that has coiled in my body.

"Don't laugh you jerk." She laughs harder then tries to control herself. I'm not sure how much wine she had before I got here, but I'm guessing this wasn't her first glass.

I change the subject to avoid further embarrassment.

"So where's Bailey? Bed already?" It was 7.

"No he's at my moms for the night. I had a migraine and needed some me time so I slept most of the afternoon and then decided to gorge myself on food" She gestures to the table.

"Fair enough. How's your case going? The one you were working on yesterday?" I ask while going back to my food.

"Ah, funnily enough, when I got off the phone with you, I was too distracted to get much work done and when I got Bailey back to the office with me, he got bored and decided to throw a tantrum. Let's just say, it was not a fun night."

I really wanted to make a quip about Bailey being bored at the office but I wasn't sure our friendship was at a point where we could joke about our mini fight. She answered my thoughts for me though.

"You can say 'I told you so' if you like, I know you want to" she said, pointing her fork at me.

"I'm choosing to plead the fifth" I retort, smiling goofily at her.

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Yes! I know some stuff!" I forgot I was talking to a lawyer.

"Relax, I'm kidding." She goes back to eating her food and I'm content to just sit with her doing the same.

* * *

Santana POV

I wasn't expecting to see Dani today. I had planned to call her tomorrow to apologise even if I had to leave a voicemail. We had finished eating and been chatting for the last few hours over a bottle of wine. She's so easy to talk to and it's not hard to forget that she's an internationally recognised singer. It's getting late and I know I should go to bed but it's been so long since I've felt this comfortable with anyone that I don't want the night to end.

"I should probably go and let you get some rest" she says and I can feel my disappointment radiating.

"Okay" I say and I'm pretty sure the wine has made me slightly pouty.

She smiles at me and promises to call me tomorrow when she gets a break in recording.

I walk her to the door and she's about to open it but for some reason she hesitates. She turns back to me and pulls me in to a hug. I feel like my insides are on fire and it's not from the alcohol.

She whispers a thank you in my ear and then she's out the door.

I move to my bedroom to try and get some sleep and as I lay there thinking over the past 24 hours, I realise that it was one of the best and worst days I've had in a while.


	6. Chapter 6

**Crazy long author's note:**

**In regards to the Brittana friendship; I have probably read every well written Brittana story on the internet and they've been done so many ways that I really wanted to try something completely different. I didn't want Santana to be 'broken' over her high school love like I've seen a million times, so I decided to try this angle and I like it.**

**I try to avoid using actual Glee episode references as much as possible because it annoys me when people just fill up their fics with storyline they haven't written, but I did use one in here because it still amuses me :)**

**Lastly, if you are a Demi fan but haven't watched her Intimate Performance videos on YouTube. Go do it! Don't even bother reading the chapter! She needs to release an acoustic album, seriously. So much Demi love.**

**As always, thanks for the reviews! **

* * *

Santana POV

The last two days have been fairly uneventful if you don't count Dani asking me to attend an intimate performance she's doing at the Bowery Ballroom. She mentioned it was fairly last minute as her manager wanted her to try out the scene but that she'd like me to come, so I'm currently in a cab on my way there.

I'm excited to see her perform. When I found out who she was, I really didn't want to get too crazy and google her so I only ended up looking at one or two videos of her songs.

I'm halfway there when I get a text from her.

**From: Dani**

**Hey, sorry again that you couldn't ride with me. My manager can be a little paranoid when it comes to new people. Can't wait to see you :)**

I was only slightly let down when I found out I couldn't go with Dani, partly because it means hanging out by myself until the show starts.

I grin like an idiot. I can't wait to see her either but I don't know if she means it in a purely platonic way? We haven't really discussed past relationships. I definitely get a vibe from her but I don't want to assume so I decide to just ignore the last part of her message.

**To: Dani**

**I totally get it so don't worry about it. I'm in a cab so i'll be there soon.**

When I get to the bar I grab a drink and find a table near the front. There's still about 15 minutes until the show starts so I text Michelle to check on Bailey.

Before I finish my drink, a waitress brings another one over to me.

"I didn't order this."

"Dani said to tell you to order whatever you want." She smiles and walks back to the bar.

The lights go down and I can see her band walking out on to the stage. The audience starts cheering and the music starts up. I recognise the intro of the song as one of the videos I watched.

I can barely make her out as she walks on to the stage. As she starts singing, the lights come back up focusing entirely on her. For a small venue, the audience is going wild for her and I can't say I feel any different.

As she finishes up her first song, I realise just how talented she is.

_Somewhere we went wrong_

_Our love is like a song_

_But you won't sing along_

_You've forgotten_

_About us_

_(Don't forget)_

She grabs a drink of water once she's done and then addresses the audience.

"Hey guys, thank you so much for coming out. I know it was last minute but clearly, like me, my fans have nothing better to do on a Friday night!" She jokes and everyone laughs and whistles at her.

"So this is my first performance since moving out here nearly 2 months ago. New York is known for it's awesome music venues so I wanted to try something else out with you guys and downsize a little. Make sure you let me know what you think!" More cheering.

"This next song is called Every time You Lie"

She plays about 10 songs and chats to the audience in between. She's an amazing performer and really tries to connect with her fans.

"I want to thank you again for coming out tonight, you guys are amazing and I've had so much fun. This is my last song. It's called Fix a Heart"

The lights on stage go down again and she grabs her guitar. She's used it a few times tonight for different songs. She starts playing and the lights come up as she sings the first line.

I'm watching her so closely, her face is so expressive when she sings. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it. It's not until the end of the song that I realise I have tears in my eyes. As she sings the last line, her eyes lock on to mine.

_You never really can fix my heart_

The crowd goes crazy and I stand up to clap for her. Her eyes are still on me and she smiles before looking back over the audience.

"Goodnight New York"

* * *

Dani POV

When I texted Santana telling her I couldn't wait to see her, I was sure I'd get something back. When she didn't even respond to that part of my text, I thought that maybe I had misinterpreted the things I felt were happening between us.

I finished my last song and looked over to her and saw she had tears in her eyes. When we made eye contact, I knew I wasn't imagining the feelings between us.

I realised once I got backstage that we hadn't made plans to catch up after the show, so I grabbed one of the bar staff and told them to go find her for me.

I was packing up my stuff in the back room when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey! You were so amazing!" she burst in to the room looking so excited and pulled me in to a hug.

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it." We had pulled back from the hug, but still had hold of each other.

She grinned at me "It was so good. Are you gonna do more shows like that?"

"I'm not sure yet, it depends on the response from the fans, but I definitely prefer these smaller gigs. I feel more connected with the audience." We make eye contact again as I say this and I can feel the tension in the room increase as we gaze at each other.

It's that moment my manager decides to interrupt us.

"Dani"

I look over to the door to see him standing there. Santana and I both pull back from each other at the same time and turn towards him.

"Hey Damon, good timing. This is Santana. Santana, this is Damon, my manager"

"It's nice to meet you" Santana says putting out her hand. She seems nervous.

"You too. I've heard a lot about you" Damon takes her hand and smiles at her.

"D, I just came to say the car's here. There don't seem to be too many crazies out the back so this should be an easy exit. I've just gotta go speak to the bouncer and I'll come back and get you guys. See you in 5"

"Okay thanks."

As he leaves I turn back to finish packing my stuff. I'm so paranoid about leaving something at a show and finding it on eBay the next day.

"So I guess I should go, I just wanted to tell you the show was great."

I turn back to her and grab her arm. I don't know why I felt like I needed to do that so she didn't leave but she didn't seem to mind.

"Wait, you're not going anywhere. I thought we could get a drink or something?" I say hopefully.

"I would love to, really, but I have to get Bailey from the babysitter." Crap. Of course she does.

"Well what about if we go get Bailey on the way home and then grab a drink at your house? It can be non alcoholic and that way, Bailey would be tucked into his bed?"

"Really? Are you sure? The babysitter isn't exactly on the way home And you said your manager is weird with new people"

"It's totally fine, I already talked him down and convinced him you're not that crazy. Do you have a car seat for him?"

"Yeah, it's at Michelle's. I left it there in case she needed to go somewhere with him."

"Perfect then. Let's go find Damon and get out of here."

It was about an hour later when we finally settled on Santana's couch with some tea. Bailey was asleep the entire time between the babysitter's and home so when Santana was putting him to bed, I managed to convince her to let me go home and change in to my pyjamas. When I got back, she was wearing a pair of sweats and an old Harvard shirt.

"Harvard, really? How do I keep missing these things about you?"

She laughs and it's honestly the best sound.

"We spent a lot of time talking about random stuff or Bailey or being famous"

"I guess. Okay I'm aiming to find out tons about you tonight, even if we have to play 20 questions"

"Okay deal. Do you want something to eat? I wasn't sure if you ate earlier."

"I had something before the show. I think I could do something sweet?"

"I've got ice cream and some cookies"

"Ooooooh cookies!" I say excitedly.

"Okay hold on" she jumps up and heads to the kitchen.

"Here you go superstar" I grab one and take a bite.

"Thanks. These are my favourite" I say while still chewing the cookie.

"So classy"

"Shut up" I swallow the mouthful then shove her playfully.

"Okay, so I realised on the way back here that it's been almost 2 weeks since I've seen Bailey and tonight doesn't count cuz he was sleeping" I frown

"Awww well what are you doing on Sunday?" I think about my weekend plans

"Nothing, at this stage"

"Why don't you hang out with us? We do breakfast, movies.. It'll be fun and he'll be excited to see you."

"Really? That would be awesome" I smile and finish eating my cookie.

We've been chatting for an hour now and I've got to know where she grew up, how many siblings she has and all about college, but we've somehow managed to avoid anything about our love lives. I was really hoping it would naturally come up in conversation so I didn't have to bring it up but I think we're both avoiding it.

"So, you said you didn't have a husband when we first met but is there anyone special in your life?" Face palm. Lame.

She looks surprised that I brought it up but I think I also saw relief on her face.

"Uh, no. There hasn't been for a while. What about you?"

"Nah, I tend to only date when I need new material for my songs" I joke.

She laughs and I'm glad that didn't fall flat.

"So a while huh? Was Brittany the last person?" There's a mixture of shock and hurt on her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to assume you're gay or upset you" I suck.

"No it's okay, it just shocked me that you brought her up. Most people prefer to avoid conversations about dead people."

"I'm not most people." I say honestly.

She smiles at me. "I know." She takes a deep breath and continues "Brittany and I weren't together. I'm gay, but she wasn't. We were best friends throughout high school and then I went off to college. We were still close but obviously not like when we were in the same town. My last year of college, she decided she wanted to move to New York to figure out who she was. She ended up dating a dead beat and got pregnant. I was finished college and had started an internship at the firm. We lived together in a small apartment in Brooklyn where we set everything up for her and the baby. She died and I've been so wrapped up in Bailey and my job that I really haven't bothered seeing anyone after the first date."

I grabbed my tea to take a sip and then asked the question I was dying to know the answer to.

"Were you in love with her?" She was silent for a minute before responding.

"I thought I was. Especially in high school. But I realised a long time ago that it was more admiration than anything. When I was so deep in the closet that I could see Narnia, she's the one who taught me it's okay to be who you are. She never cared what anyone thought of her and she supported me through coming out at school and to my parents. She was pretty amazing, but we were never meant to be more than what we were." She smiles but I realise she's crying.

I put my cup down and pull her into a hug. She buries her head in my shoulder and I can feel her tears soaking in to my top. I run my hand over the back of her neck in a soothing motion.

"Thank you for telling me about her. She sounds like a pretty amazing person." She looks up at me and smiles.

"She was. Thanks for letting me talk about her. It's been a really long time."

"No problem" I smile back at her and she wipes her face, pulling back to her side of the couch.

"So what about you superstar? You've heard all about me. You can't avoid answering with jokes all night." She nudges my knee

"Who's avoiding? My so called love life is all over the internet."

"Well I don't believe everything the internet says. But I haven't really read anything about you online. Besides listening to a couple of songs, all of my information is directly from the source." She points at me.

"Really? Why? They tell it so much better! There's usually wedding bells and babies involved. I had just had a really big lunch."

She laughs again and I'm sure I'll never get tired of it.

"Okay, well, are you seeing anyone now?"

"Nope. I only just got to New York. Free to good home."

"But you just bought an apartment" she jokes back.

"Good point. Well then no, I'm just free"

"What about before you left LA?"

"A while ago, but nothing serious. It got old when the people I would date would post stuff on social media about me."

"What? That seriously happens?" She seemed outraged.

"Yeah. It's fine though. They were assholes."

"Wow. Well you're definitely better off without guys like that." Is she trying to get me to say it? Really?

"They weren't guys." She blushes at this but definitely looks relieved that I corrected her.

"I did think you wore too much eye make-up to be straight"

What the? I laugh so hard at this.

"Is that even a thing?" She shrugs but starts laughing at herself.

"I have no idea"

It's after 1am and when she yawns I realise she was at work all day and probably needs to go to bed.

"I'm gonna head out before you fall asleep on me."

"Normally I'd fight you cuz I'm having fun but I'm so tired." She yawns again.

"It's all good. I really wanted to hang out with Bailey anyway so I don't mind cutting the night short." I stand up and stretch.

"Gee thanks"

"Just kidding but I am excited about Sunday, if it's still cool that I join you." I start to pick up the cups to take them to the kitchen.

"Leave those, I'll get them tomorrow. And of course you can. As I said, B will be excited." I put the cups down and head towards the door.

"Awesome, well I've got some album stuff to do tomorrow but I might text you if I get bored"

"Sounds good.. " She starts yawning mid-sentence. ".. to me. Sorry"

"Go to bed sleepyhead." I turn to pull her in to a hug. It feels so natural, like we've done this a thousand times. She pulls back but only slightly, still with her arms around me.

"On my way right now. Thanks again for inviting me tonight. If I didn't mention it, I had the best time. You're so talented and when I'm awake enough, I want to hear more about your music."

"I should be thanking you for coming. We can talk on Sunday." I smile at her and then decide to kiss her on the cheek. As my lips make contact with her skin, I hear her breath catch in her throat.

I pull back and look in to her eyes to try and see what's going through her head.

I can tell that she's thinking the same thing as me.

_This is the beginning of something._


	7. Chapter 7

**I debated whether to write their Sunday hang out day but thought people would want it if I didn't. I was able to use it to cover off a couple of my other ideas though so here it is.**

**The formatting of the previous chapters was killing me so I tried to break this one up.**

**Remember to review, they make my ideas flow in to words :)**

* * *

Dani POV

I was just hanging with Santana and her son but for some reason I was so nervous. Like super ridiculously nervous. I've performed in front of a hundred thousand people and I'm nervous about this. I spoke to Santana yesterday and we agreed I'd come over at 8. It's 7:45 and I'm ready to go but I don't wanna seem too eager. My phone beeps.

From Santana:  
Come over whenever, Bailey is bouncing around the apartment waiting.

I decide to suck it up and head down to their apartment.

Santana opens her door and she looks so good. She's wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue sweater. She does casual well for someone who spends most of her week in a suit.

I'm wondering whether to greet her with a hug when Bailey comes running over to me

"DEN!"

He yells and throws his arms up for me. I pick him up and he hugs me tightly.

"Hey buddy! I haven't seen you in forever"

"You come to Harry's?" I look at Santana when he says this and she raises her eyebrows at me in question.

"Let me say hi to your mom and then we'll figure out what we're doing, okay?"

"Okay" he says and smiles at me.

I put him down and he runs back to his cartoons.

"Hi" I say smiling at Santana.

"Hi, don't I get a hug?" She says jokingly with a pout.

"Of course" I say pulling her towards me and in to my arms.

"How you doing?" I ask pulling back and heading towards the living area with her.

"I'm good, excited for today. What about you?"

"Same. A bit nervous too."

"Aww why nervous?"

"I dunno. I guess I haven't spent a lot of time with kids."

"You're great with Bailey"

"Thank you. That means a lot." I say before sitting beside Bailey on the couch. "Hey so I know Bailey mentioned me going with you guys to Harry's but I don't have to come. I can wait here or come back later?"

"Why wouldn't you come with us?"

"The paps. I don't think they'll be around, but I don't wanna put you guys in that situation." She grabs my hand.

"Look, why don't we use this as a trial. If we're going to be friends, Dani, then we're going to need to leave the house at some point. If they end up finding us, we can deal with it then. What do you think?"

"Are you sure?" I say gripping her hand back.

"Absolutely." She says grinning. "Let me put Bailey's shoes on and we can go"

I look down at her feet and then answer "I'm not sure they'll fit you"

"Ha ha. B come on, let's get your shoes on so we can go to Harry's"

* * *

As we walk out of the building, I glance around to see if I notice any paps. It's still early on Sunday morning and at this stage, I don't think there are any around. Bailey is walking in between Santana and I while holding her hand. About a block away from our building, he grabs my hand as well. This kid is too cute.

The walk is mostly quiet except when Bailey decides to make random sounds or ask us questions. Santana and I keep glancing at each other and smiling and before I know it we've made it to the front of a quaint little bakery. We walk in and it's pretty busy so I decide to pick Bailey up so he won't get lost in the crowd.

"Okay, so we normally get bagels, but we can get whatever you want."

"Well I love bagels so I'm easy"

"Why don't we get them to prepare them for us and some coffee and go to the park?"

"Sounds perfect." I say to Santana. "What do you think Mr Bailey, breakfast in the park?" I poke his cheek.

"Yep!" He gives me a toothy grin.

After we finish eating, Bailey is playing in the sand pit and Santana and I are chatting about our weekend so far. I'm currently telling her about my album progress.

"So I have a couple of songs left to record then they'll be edited and then I'll start doing promo shoots and everything else that goes with it"

"So when is it due to be released?"

"End of January"

"That's months away! I can't wait that long!"

"Awww. Maybe If you're good I'll give you a sneak peek"

"Yay" she says enthusiastically. Now is as good a time as any.

"So.. Will you do something for me?"

"That depends. What is it?"

"Have dinner with me."

"Like a date?"

"Yes like a date. I thought maybe I could take you out on Wednesday night. Your mom watches Bailey right?"

"She does."

"Soooooo..?" She's killing me.

"Yes. I will have dinner with you."

"Awesome. Is there any food you don't like?"

"Nope. I'll eat anything."

"Okay."

"Okay." We smile at each other.

* * *

The rest of the morning and early afternoon is spent watching movies. While Bailey has his nap, Santana and I watch Friends reruns that are on tv. Bailey's project for this weekend is a strawberry garden that Santana plans to put on their balcony.

When he wakes up, he's so excited that I'm still here to help with his garden. After a snack we get straight to it. He's too little to do most of it, but Santana and I make sure he gets to do as much as possible. By the end of it, his face and hands are covered in dirt. He looks adorable so I snap a couple of pics with him where we make silly faces and then some of the three of us. I change one of the last photos I took to be my wallpaper on my phone and Santana notices.

"You have to send me all of those."

"Okay I will"

"I should probably get him in the bath before he starts touching stuff" she says and gestures to Bailey climbing off his chair. "I'll be like 15 minutes if you wanna hang around"

"I'll start cleaning up" I say.

"Just relax, I can do that later. Be right back" she picks Bailey up and heads down the hall.

I decide to clean up anyway. I figure if I get all that done we can hang out more. I can hear them in the bathroom playing around so I follow the giggles and wind up in the doorway watching them.

"Where was my invite to the party?" I say. They both turn and look at me.

"Den! Come play!" I kneel down so I can play with Bailey's toys.

We end up playing until the water gets too cold for Bailey to stay in. Santana left to get Bailey's pyjamas ready so I pulled him out and got him dry then we went to find Santana.

As we walk down towards his room, Santana starts to walk out.

"Hey!" She says surprised to see us.

"The water was getting cold so we decided to get out"

"Good idea. Let's get you dressed" she says to Bailey and grabs him out of my arms. I'm about to head back to the living room when she grabs my hand and pulls me with them in to Bailey's room.

While Santana gets Bailey dressed, I look around his room. Santana has set it up well. It's super cute.

"So I was thinking we could order pizza for dinner?" She says while pulling Bailey's shirt over his head.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying? I've been here all day"

"Don't be silly. I told you to hang with us all day, that includes dinner. So, pizza?"

"Pizza is good" I smile nervously at her. The way she makes me feel. Seriously.

She brushes Bailey's hair and then puts him down with a kiss to his forehead. "Ok kid, you're done. Go pick a movie cuz after dinner you're off to bed." He runs out of the room.

"So I'm gonna order the pizza then I just need to clean up the bathroom and his garden mess. Why don't you go sit with him and I promise I won't be long."

"How about I order the pizza while you go sort out the bathroom. I cleaned up what I could earlier from the garden, there's just a few things that need to be put away. Then we can both watch the movie."

"You can hang out with us every Sunday if you're gonna clean up as well." She jokes.

"Hey, that's a one time thing. I'm trying to impress." I joke back.

"Me or Bailey? Cuz I think you've already done both." We grin at each other and I think it's a good idea to change the subject before I grab her and kiss her For being so perfect.

"I'm starving, let's go organise this dinner. Do you have a preference?"

"No, but Bailey will only eat cheese, so just get a small cheese one as well." We walk out of the room together and then she heads back to the bathroom.

* * *

After dinner, Santana has to fight with Bailey to get him to go to bed. I get the feeling it has something to do with me being there. He eventually relents when I agree to read him a story. Santana says goodnight to him and leaves to do the dishes. He falls asleep about 5 pages in. I kiss his forehead and go to the kitchen.

"I can't get over how cute he is. He's really smart too. It must be hard though, doing it by yourself. I'm exhausted and it was one day. He's asleep though." I sit at the table.

"It can be, but my family have been really supportive. So have Brittany's family. We try to see them every few months so they don't miss out on too much." She sits down across from me but I can tell her mood has changed.

I grab her hand and get her to look at me.

"Sorry. It's her birthday this week. "

"When?"

"Tuesday." She says as a tear falls down her face.

"You know you don't ever have to apologise to me about being upset about Brittany. To be honest, I've never lost anyone like that, but I do know that everyone deals with pain in their own way. I just hope that one day, you can think of her and remember all the good times and then maybe it won't hurt so much. Tell me about one of her birthdays. Being friends for so long, surely you've got a story."

"Umm okay" she says a little bit unsurely.

"While you think, why don't I get us some tea." I say and jump up.

"Okay, there was one year, we were like 14, and she asked our classmates what she should do for her birthday and what would they like to do. Everyone agreed that we should go to the water park in our town." I look at her confused by this.

"I know, November birthdays and water parks. But they were still open since most of it was inside and it was heated. The problem is, Britt hated the water. She was terrified of it. But everyone wanted to do that, so she got her parents to arrange her party there." I put her tea in front of her. "Thanks"

"So she spent the first half of the day avoiding any slides or pools. But eventually I convinced her to go on one of the kid's slides with me. She had so much fun, her face was priceless. Then she worked her way through the different slides. She ended up having the best day, but it was just so funny that she started out being terrified. It was a good day." By the end of her story she is smiling so much just from remembering. It feels good to see that look on her face.

"From what you've told me, it sounds like she put other people first a lot."

"She definitely did. I really want Bailey to know that when he's old enough You know? He knows that she's his mom and that she died but he's obviously still too young to understand." She smiles and I smile back then she grabs my hand from the table and links our fingers.

"Thank you. That really helped."

"Anytime." I say running my thumb along hers.

"So... Where are you gonna take me for our date?" She says excitedly, changing to subject.

"You'll have to wait and see. But, I will tell you that you should wear a dress. You can pretend you're seeing your fashionista cousin."

"I don't think I would wanna go on a date with my cousin." She says seriously.

"Just do it, okay?" I say after poking my tongue out at her.

"Okay." She grins. She pulls her hand back to sip her tea.

"So what do you have going on this week at work?" I ask.

"Back to normal for this week so should be 8-5 days. Nothing too crazy. What about you?"

"I'm finishing up the last few songs early on and then I have a couple of press things. I'll be on GMA on Friday."

"I'll be sure to tune in then. What time do you have to be at the studio tomorrow?"

I scrunch up my face. "8. I really hate early mornings." She laughs at this.

"8 isn't early. Besides you were here at 8 this morning and you seemed fine."

"Yeah but I had been up for ages cuz I was excited."

"Awww. You're too cute."

"Shhhhhh am not. I should probably go soon though, I've got a couple of things to do before bed."

"Me too and Bailey will be up way earlier than he needs to be."

"Thanks for today." I say, wishing I didn't actually have to leave

"No, thank you. You were a big help with Bailey and I know he's going to talk about you for days."

"Mission accomplished then. I'm gonna go." I say standing up. Santana starts to stand up too but I stop her.

"Stay there and finish your tea. I can see myself out" She sits back down.

"Text me tomorrow?" She asks, looking up at me

"Of course." I lean down and kiss her cheek then squeeze her hand. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." I say.

"Can't wait" she says grinning.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's 2am here but I wanted to get this finished for you guys so hopefully you like it! Apologies for any errors, my eyes stopped working an hour ago.**

**Reviews are better than rainbows! **

* * *

Santana POV

This week feels like it's been going so slow. It's finally Wednesday and I'm going to lunch with Michelle. She's been hassling me for the last couple of weeks but I've been too busy to take a proper lunch break so we're going today, I'm just waiting for her to come find me in my office. While I'm waiting, I scroll back through my texts from Dani. I smile at the one I woke up to yesterday morning.

From Dani:  
Thinking of you today. Just remember, it's okay to be sad, but it's also okay to remember the good times. Call me if you need anything xo

She's so sweet and the fact that she took the time to send that means so much to me. I'm interrupted from my thoughts by Michelle knocking on my door.

"Hey, you ready to go?" I put my phone in my bag and head towards the door.

"Yeah, I was thinking sushi?"

"That works. "

We're both quiet until we get to the restaurant. Not unusual for me but Michelle normally can't shut up. We've just finished ordering when she starts.

"So.. Bailey mentioned you spent the day with your neighbour on Sunday." That's why she was quiet.

"Yeah, we did. So what?"

"So what's going on there?" She pushes.

"We're friends. I can't hang out with a friend?" I say, not ready to give too much up.

"You can. But I've known you for years and not once have I heard of you letting anyone join you and Bailey on a Sunday." I know she's not going to give up so I decide to tell her about our date.

"She asked me on a date."

"Really, when?"

"We're going to dinner tonight." Michelle squeals, like actually squeals. I slap her arm to get her to calm down.

"That's awesome. And Bailey really seems to like her."

"Yeah, she's really good with him." My phone vibrates and lights up on the table with a text from Dani. I decide not to pick it up straight away but Michelle picks it up instead. I go to grab it back, but she's looking at the wallpaper which is a picture of Bailey and Dani from Sunday.

"Aww this is cute. Is that her?"

"Yeah." I say going to grab my phone back.

"She looks kinda familiar. I know her from somewhere; didn't you say she only just moved to New York?"

"Yeah she did." I say, trying to avoid where the conversation is heading. Unfortunately Michelle can see straight through me and knows im hiding something.

"Why does she look familiar, Tana?"

"She might be kinda sorta famous." I mumble out.

"WHAT?" She yells and people start looking at us.

"That's where I know her. Your new neighbour is Dani Taylor? The singer?" She says, a little quieter.

"Yes. Keep your voice down." I say grabbing my phone back.

"Oh my god. You're going on a date with this girl?"

"Yes. " I say smiling at my friend.

"This is insane. I can't even.. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because, she's super private and I didn't know what was going to happen. I just wanted to see where things went and then decide if I told anyone. No one else knows so I'd prefer you didn't say anything."

"Fine. But if you guys get serious, you're going to have to introduce us. You know I need to make sure she's worthy of you."

"I think it's the other way around but if we get to that stage, I will, I promise"

Michelle goes to the bathroom so I sneak a quick glance at my phone to read Dani's text.

From Dani:  
I made reservations for 8 so I'll pick you up at 7:30 :)

I send a quick reply before Michelle gets back.

To Dani:  
Sounds good :)

The rest of lunch was spent with Michelle helping me figure out what to wear tonight. It's easy for me to dress up for family events because I'm not trying to impress anyone but with Dani, I want her to think I look good, so it's making me a little nervous.

I leave work early so I have the maximum amount of time possible to get ready for dinner. I settle on a black and white tiered mini. I grab a quick shower and start getting ready.

* * *

Dani knocks on my door right on 7.30. Lucky I'm wearing heels so I manage to keep myself from running to answer the door. When I open the door, I'm speechless. She's standing there in a beautiful coral dress and she looks stunning. We're both staring at each other not saying anything.

"Hey. You look beautiful." Pretty sure I'm blushing now.

"Thanks, so do you."

"Thank you. Are you ready to go?" She asks.

"Yeah just let me get my coat and my bag."

I put on my coat then grab my bag from the side table and head out the door beside Dani. Once I've locked my door, I grab Dani's hand and link our fingers together as we walk to the lift.

"Do you have a coat? You're going to freeze." I say while we wait for the elevator.

"It's in the car; I took it down before I came to get you. I was going to get a driver to take us to dinner, but I thought that I could drive us?" She says.

"I still don't know where we're going so it's probably best that you drive" I joke hoping she'll tell me where we're going.

"You'll find out when we get there" She knows me too well already.

"Fine. I can wait." I huff and she smirks at me.

We pull up to the restaurant and are greeted by the valet. I've lived in New York for years but I normally take a cab everywhere so this is new. She walks around the car and grabs my hand again as we walk in. Such a simple gesture and it's giving me butterflies.

"I've never been here, but I hear the food is amazing." She whispers in my ear.

"Me either. I've heard a few of my colleagues talk about it though." I say.

The maître d' greets us and before Dani has a chance to say anything, she addresses us.

"Good evening, Miss Taylor, we have your table ready for you if you would like to follow me."

She takes us to a table towards a quiet corner of the restaurant. It is so beautifully decorated, I'm curious about who designed it. She seats us and hands Dani and I our menus.

"I'll give you a few moments to peruse the drinks menu and your server will be over with some water." She says and then walks away.

"So I thought we could get a bottle of wine? But we don't have to." Dani says seemingly unsure of herself.

"Wine sounds good." I say making eye contact with her hoping it helps to relax her.

She nods as our server comes over with our water and Dani orders for us.

"A bottle of La Coulée de Serrant."

"Certainly ma'am." He leaves.

"So what do you feel like eating?" Dani asks me

"I have no idea to be honest." I look at the menu. "Everything sounds amazing though."

"We can share something? They have a couple of options for two." She suggests.

"Maybe the chicken?"

"Perfect. So how's your week been going so far?"

"Good actually. Much more chilled than the last few weeks. I actually got a lunch break today."

The server brings our wine and pours it.

"Thank you" we both say.

"Are you ready to order?" He asks

Dani takes the lead and orders for us. When he leaves she goes back to our conversation.

"I know it can be hard sometimes when you're so busy but you have to take care of yourself." She says.

"Awww are you worried about me?" I tease her

"Not at all. Who will help me with my apartment maintenance needs if you get sick?"

"I will do my best to avoid getting sick then." I laugh.

"Good." She says satisfied with my answer.

"But you know, I might worry a little bit about you. Completely unrelated to my apartment needs." She says shyly.

I grin at her. She is so freaking adorable.

"I really like you" I say, biting the bullet.

That makes her smile which makes my stomach flip.

"I really like you too" We gaze stupidly at each other across the table while sipping our wine.

We're suddenly interrupted by a woman and who I'm assuming is her daughter.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt. My daughter, Jessica is a huge fan of yours and she was wondering if she could get a picture"

"Uh.. Just a second." Dani answers.

She looks at me with concern in her eyes. I know she's thinking this has somehow ruined our dinner.

"It's okay" I say.

"Are you sure?"

"I promise." I say trying to reassure her.

Dani gets up and introduces herself to the young girl. She poses for a couple of pictures with her and then asks the server for a pen and some paper so she can offer Jessica her autograph. She is so good with her. Both of their faces are lit up as they interact. A couple of minutes later, Dani comes back to the table.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." I say taking her hand off the table.

"No, I really wanted tonight to be about us."

"Hey, relax. It is all about us. I knew when I said yes to dinner that something like that could happen and to be honest, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"Okay" she says starting to calm down.

Our server appears with our dinner so I reluctantly let Dani's hand go. The food smells amazing. We got the chicken saltimbocca which came with a variety of sautéed vegetables.

We start eating and I decide to tell Dani about yesterday.

"So I wanted to thank you again for your text yesterday morning. It really helped me to get through the day."

"I'm glad I could help." She says happily.

"I think that talking about her with you has helped so much. Her birthday last year I was a mess but yesterday, I did what you suggested and I spent most of the day remembering good times. I even pulled out some photos to put in to albums for Bailey." I say smiling.

"That's awesome. I'm really happy for you." She smiles back.

We finish our meal chatting away about random things and flirting here and there. I don't even know where the time has gone but our server brings the check and I realise sadly that the night will be ending soon.

The maître d' from earlier suddenly appears at our table.

"Miss Taylor, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought I should let you know that there are a few paparazzi out the front. I think they may have been tipped off that you were here. When you're ready to leave, I'd be happy to lead you out the back, the valet can bring your car around."

This is the second time tonight I've seen that panicked look on Dani's face and I really don't like it. She doesn't answer so I decide to answer for her.

"How many are there?"

"Last I checked, 3 ma'am"

"Why don't you give us a few minutes to settle the bill and then just have the valet bring the car out the front. We'll handle the paparazzi." I say.

"Certainly ma'am" she leaves.

It's then that Dani seems to snap out of her panic.

"Santana, I.." I cut her off before she apologises again.

"No, I told you, I knew what to expect. I also told you that when we run in to paparazzi, we would deal with it, okay?"

"Okay." She says nodding at me.

"Good, now let me sort this bill out and we can go." I say standing up and picking up the check.

"Nu-uh. Nice try but I asked you out, I'm paying."

"We had a $170 bottle of wine and you had one glass because you're driving. I should pay."

"No way. I've got this." She says taking the bill back off me. She pulls her purse out and puts double what's owed in the folder before grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door.

Before we leave she gives the maître d' a $100 tip. I'm assuming for offering to help us escape out the back.

As soon as we get outside there are camera flashes and people talking at Dani. She puts her arm around me and ushers me to where her car is waiting. The photographers are asking her questions about who I am and how she's liking New York. She tells them New York has been great up until she was harassed by them while having dinner. She gets me in the car and runs around the other side climbing in. We're driving off before I even realise it.

"Sorry, I should've told you what to prepare for."

"It's okay, I've been in those situations coming out of the court house although it's not quite the same." She puts her hand on my knee as we drive towards our part of town.

"How did you like dinner?"

"It was amazing. The food, the wine, the company. All perfect."

"Good I'm glad." She says giving me a toothy grin.

I put my hand on top of hers on my knee and give it a slight squeeze. The rest of the drive is quiet but it's a comfortable silence.

We're now standing outside my door and I'm contemplating what happens next.

"Do you wanna come in?"

"I do... But I'm not going to" My face falls a little and I look down to try and hide it but she grabs my cheek softly and forces me to look at her again.

"I'm not going to because I really really like you and I think that tonight has been absolutely perfect."

"Yeah?" I say looking in to her eyes.

"Yeah. There's only one thing that could make it better."

"What?" I ask.

It's then that she kisses me. My eyes close instinctively. Her lips are on mine and I can feel fire in my bones. I moan softly when I feel her hands running over my body and I move my arms to hold on to her. My knees are weak and I'm afraid if I let go, I'm going to fall. There is so much passion in this kiss, it's something I've never felt. Our mouths are both duelling for control and I'm so willing to give it up to her. Her tongue runs along my lower lip begging for entrance which I allow. When she slips her tongue in my mouth, I hear a slight moan coming from her. I had been waiting for this for so long without even realising it. We continue like this for as long as we can before we need to come up for air. When we pull back from the kiss we hold on to each other tightly.

"Wow" I say

"Wow" she giggles and then pecks my lips again.

"Wow" I kiss her this time.

"That was definitely worth the wait." She says, caressing my face and moving a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Yeah but I don't wanna have to wait that long to do it again." I pout jokingly.

"Never that long again." She says and kisses my pout.

"Good" I say wrapping my arms around her and nuzzling her neck.

"So tonight was a success then?" She asks.

"Definitely." I kiss her neck. "So are you gonna come in?"

"Don't tempt me." I start slowly kissing my way up her neck.

"There's no one here to interrupt us." She laughs nervously so I know I'm getting to her.

"Nope. Not gonna work." She says trying to sound convincing. She pulls back putting some distance between us.

"Please?" I say pouting. Hopefully this pout thing works in my favour again.

"We've taken things slowly so far and that date and kiss were amazing. Why don't we try to keep everything else going the same way? That way things are bound to be perfect."

"It was a pretty good kiss"

"You're really special to me. I wanna do things right." She says honestly.

"Okay" I smile at her. Where did this girl come from?

She pulls me back into her and hugs me tightly.

"So I'm going to say goodnight and wait until you get inside before going back to my own apartment where I can think about the amazing girl I just kissed"

"Will you text me?" I ask. God I'm needy today.

"Absolutely." She kisses my forehead.

"Okay. I guess we should say goodnight then."

Instead of saying anything, she nudges my chin up and kisses me softly. After a few seconds, the kiss deepens and I'm certain her kisses will be the death of me. We pull back, our foreheads against one another.

"I'll see you soon. Go inside."

"See you soon" I say before unlocking my front door and heading inside.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay guys, work has been hectic and I've been too tired to write. I like this chapter :)**

**Thanks for the reviews, it's cool to know what people think of the story! Keep them coming!**

* * *

Dani POV

One week and two days since Santana and I went on our first date. One week and two days since we shared our first kiss. We went and saw a movie on Friday that I had free tickets for and then I got to have dinner with her and Bailey on Sunday night. That meant two extra days that I got to kiss the girl that invaded my every thought recently.

But it was now Friday and I hadn't seen her since Sunday and I was missing her a lot. I decided to push the meeting with my manager back and see if I could take her to lunch.

**To: Santana**

**Hey beautiful girl, I haven't seen you all week and I think withdrawals are kicking in. Can I take you to lunch? x **

While I waited for her to reply, I texted Damon to push back my meeting. By the time I was done, I had received a reply.

**From: Santana**

**Hey you, I would love to but I'm stuck at home. Bailey isn't well :( **

I was going to text back but figured calling was easier. She picked up right away.

"Hey, what's wrong with the little man?" I ask.

"I'm pretty sure it's tonsillitis. He was up most of the night with a fever and a sore throat which meant I was up all night. He's understandably a very unhappy little boy at the moment but I finally got him to sleep. Not sure how long it will last though. I'm sorry that I can't do lunch." She sounded exhausted.

"Don't worry about lunch, Bailey is more important." I heard him start to cry in the background for Santana.

"He's awake again, can I call you later?"

"Of course. Give him a hug for me." I say.

"Will do. Bye" I hang up and make a split second decision about the rest of my day.

**To: Damon**

**Hey D, Something has come up, let's do tomorrow instead?**

I then left the studio and headed back to the apartment.

I got to Santana's about an hour after I called her. I realised when I got there that she could have been asleep so I decided to knock lightly on the door just in case.

She opened the door and while I think she looks beautiful all the time, she definitely didn't look like herself. She was a little pale and had dark circles under her eyes, her lack of sleep evident. When she saw me standing there, she looked surprised and then relieved. She fell in to my arms and I held her close as she nuzzled my neck. She didn't seem too keen on letting go so I manoeuvred us in to the living room and on to the couch.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I thought I'd come and check in. I brought some food and I went to the pharmacy and they gave me some stuff for kids. I just bought a bunch of everything cuz I figured you would know which was best to give him based on his symptoms. I also thought you might already have some medicine but it would save you having to go out if you run low." She cuts me off with a kiss.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. So is he asleep again?"

"Yeah he tires himself out crying. I can only give him a dose of medicine every 4 hours so as it starts to wear off he's super sensitive again. I'm pretty sure his ears are bugging him too. " she snuggles up to me on the couch

"Have you slept at all?" I run my hands over her back.

"I think I fell asleep for 10 minutes early this morning but I'm too worried he'll cry and I'll miss it."

"Well I'm here now, so why don't you go take a nap and I'll get him if he wakes up."

"What about work? Didn't you have meetings today?"

"Yep all sorted, I'm staying here."

"Are you sure? I really just need like 30 minutes or so. Hopefully that will be enough to give me some energy"

"Yes. Go lay down. When did you last give him medicine and where is it?"

"It's in the kitchen. It's been about 2 hours, he usually starts waking up in the last hour as the medicine wears off so I should be back by then." She says yawning. I kiss the top of her head and then force her up.

"Go get some sleep. I know where you are if I need you."

"Mmkay." She says as she gets up then kisses me and wanders off to her room.

I put the tv on and turn the volume right down. It's about half an hour before I hear Bailey calling for his Mami. I jump up and get to his room quickly hoping he doesn't wake Santana up.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing?" His cheeks are flushed and he has tears in his eyes.

"Den, where's Mami?" He looks so lost with his bottom lip jutting out. He may not be biologically Santana's but they have that pout in common.

I went to his bed and pulled him in to a hug.

"Mami is sleeping, you wanna hang with me for a bit?"

"Cars?"

"You wanna watch Cars?" He nods and smiles slightly.

"Okay but I'm gonna make you something to eat first." I pick him up and take him to the couch. I put the movie on and head to the kitchen to make him some soup.

He's sitting quietly watching the movie when I get back in the room. I sit beside him and put the food down on the table.

"Okay, time for some soup."

"Not hungry. Feel sick" He says.

"You need to eat, it'll help you get better."

"Why?"

"Because you need to eat to get strong and when you're strong your body can fight the bad guys that are making you sick."

He looks at me like I'm crazy but turns towards me and opens his mouth.

We get half way through the bowl and he decides he's done. I try to convince him to keep eating but I can tell if I push that he's gonna end up screaming.

"Why don't you lay down on the pillow" I assume when I leave the room to clean up he'll do that but he's still sitting when I get back.

I sit beside him and he climbs in to my lap.

"You wanna lay down?" He nods so I lay down with him on my stomach, his head laying on my chest. About 20 minutes later I can tell his breathing has evened out and he's fallen asleep. I watch him sleeping for I don't know how long before I can feel myself falling asleep as well.

* * *

Santana POV

I wake up and the house is silent. I'm a little disoriented because it seems like it's getting dark outside. I check the clock and realise I've been asleep for about 4 hours. I panic then, trying to figure out why I haven't heard Bailey. I walk down to his room but he's not in his bed. I then walk out to the living room. What I find there warms my heart in a way I never thought possible. Bailey is fast asleep on Dani, his little hand clutching her shirt. Dani has her arm wrapped around Bailey, fast asleep as well. I grab my phone from the side table and take a quick photo before kissing both of their foreheads. Bailey is quite warm again so I head to the kitchen to get him some more medicine.

When I get back to the living room, Dani is laying there awake.

"Hey" I say

"Hey yourself" she says smiling at me.

"Sorry if I woke you."

"It's okay. What time is it?" She says yawning

"5:30"

"Have you been awake long?"

"No I just woke up, I slept right through" I move over and kneel on the floor next to the couch.

"Good, I'm glad you got some sleep."

"Was he awake?" I say running my hand over Bailey's hair and face.

"Yeah not long after you went to bed. I got him to eat something and then we watched a movie until we fell asleep I guess."

"He's burning up again, I might wake him up and get him to take some more medicine. Did you give him any?"

"No, he wasn't too bad when he woke up, just very quiet which is unlike him."

"Yeah, I hate when he's sick, he's not himself at all" I move to wake him up, whispering in his ear.

"Hey munchkin, time to wake up." He starts to stir but I can tell he's gonna be a grumpy butt as he starts to grumble and clings to Dani.

"You just need to wake up for Mami for a little bit and then you can go back to sleep"

"Mami?" He says whimpering a little.

"Hey little one." He opens his eyes and looks at me then bursts in to tears.

I take him from Dani and pull him in to my arms and he starts crying more heavily. Dani sits up on the couch and rubs his back trying to soothe him.

I move up on to the couch next to her and start trying to prepare the medicine with my spare hand. Dani grabs it from the table and does it for me.

When Bailey sees the medicine he starts howling.

"Nooooooo"

"It's gonna make you feel better, I promise." He's still crying in to my shoulder loudly.

Dani jumps in then. "Remember what I said about having to eat to get better, the medicine is gonna help too. You need both to get strong so you can fight the baddies" he looks up as she speaks to him and goes quieter. "I tell you what, once you take it, why don't we read a story before you go back to bed?"

He looks at me, back at the medicine and then at Dani trying to decide if she was telling him the truth about the medicine, then he nods.

"Okay" he sniffles.

Dani passes it to me and I get him to drink it. He cries a little afterwards then settles down again hugging me. I lay back on the couch moving my head to Dani's shoulder as we sit there together.

"I should get him a book" she says.

"Don't bother, he's asleep again" I laugh lightly.

"Poor little guy" she says, rubbing her hand up and down his back again before grabbing my hand.

I squeeze her hand then pull back.

"Hold that thought" I say before standing up and taking Bailey to his bedroom.

When I get back, she motions me to lay back between her legs and she wraps her arms around me. I link our hands and lay my head on her shoulder.

"Thank you for coming over." I say

"I wanted to make sure you were both okay."

"Thank you for taking care of us." She kisses the side of my head.

"I like it."

"Me too. It also helps that my two favourite people together are absolutely adorable"

"Mine too!" She says feigning shock.

"I like being in your arms." I admit.

"I like having you in my arms."

"Will you stay tonight?" I ask shyly.

"If you want me to."

"I don't want you to, I need you to."

"Then I'll be here" she says running her hand up my arm causing goosebumps to appear.

Just then my stomach rumbles and I remember I haven't eaten since early this morning.

"Hungry baby?" She giggles

"A little"

"When did you last eat?"

"Maybe 6.30?" I shrug.

"Santana!" She swats my arm softly.

"What?"

"Move, let me up, I'm getting you a sandwich or something." She forces me off her and gets up.

"I'm fine, I'm not that hungry." She ignores me completely.

"What do you want on your sandwich? You know what, never mind, I'll sort it out" she leaves heading to the kitchen mumbling to herself.

About 10 minutes later she comes back with a mixture of sandwiches for the both of us. My stomach grumbles at the sight and I rub it in attempts to quieten it down.

"Eat" she sits down again.

"Okay" I relent grabbing a sandwich and eating.

When we're done, we lay on the couch cuddling with the tv on in the background for about an hour or so when I start dozing.

"Let's go to bed" Dani suggests.

"Mmkay." I say climbing up and pulling her with me.

When we get to my room, I realise she hasn't been in here yet and my mind awakens to possibilities for tonight. There's a sudden nervous energy in the room when we both realise the close proximity to my bed. She can read my mind because before I can say anything she beats me to it.

"We're just sleeping." She says determinedly.

"Fine" I huff then move to get her something to sleep in.

"This should fit you. Bathroom is in there" I point.

"Thanks" she says and kisses my cheek.

We end up snuggled in to the middle of my bed with our arms around each other and as I'm about to fall asleep, Dani speaks.

"So."

"Mmm?" I say sleepily.

"Does me sleeping over mean you're my girlfriend?" I move so that I'm looking in to her face in the dark.

"Do you want me to be?" I mimic her earlier words.

"I don't want you to be, I need you to be." I kiss her passionately, hoping my answer is clear.


	10. Chapter 10

**Firstly, I'm sooooo sorry for the delay. I've had a hectic few weeks at work and any time I've been at home I've been a total zombie.**

**I'm not super happy with this chapter but I really wanted to get something up today :(**

**In response to iconicplatonic about the POV of the story. I totally get what you mean, I've had similar issues with fics I've read. To be honest, I wrote it like this because I thought it would be the easiest way to write thoughts & feelings of the girls. I do try my best to make it obvious whose POV it is by what they're saying, but it's not always possible to do. Hopefully you still like the story though and continue to read :)**

**In regards to my grammar, it's been years since i've written anything like this. I did a science degree where report writing and grammar was easy so I'm sorry if it's totally horrible. I am also half asleep while writing most of the time and have no one reading my work before posting so apologies.**

**I already have ideas for the next chapter so hopefully that will be up in the next couple of days.**

**Don't be too harsh on this chapter!**

* * *

Santana POV

Bailey has been sick this entire week. He was getting better but i'd had to take the week off work. The only upside is that it's Thanksgiving tomorrow so there wasn't a lot of work to do anyway since most of the partners took the week off. Dani came over most nights to check on us and she stayed a couple more times. I have to admit, there were few things better than waking up in her arms.

She was flying home to spend Thanksgiving with her family this afternoon though so I wouldn't get to see her for the rest of the week. I was enjoying my first morning coffee when I felt her wrap her arms around me and kiss my cheek.

"Good morning" she said

"Mmm. Morning. How'd you sleep" I put my mug down and pulled her in to my lap.

"As usual, perfectly." She kissed my lips then nuzzled my neck.

"You want some breakfast?"

"Maybe just some coffee. I need to go to the studio before the airport." She picks up my coffee and sips it.

"Are you excited to see your family?" I ask her.

"I am, it's been a few months. I used to see them a lot when I was in LA. Have you decided whether you're going tomorrow?" My family is getting together for Thanksgiving but with Bailey being so sick, I wasn't sure I wanted to go.

"I'll see how he is feeling tonight and then decide. I already told my mom that I probably wouldn't make it." I gesture for her to get out of my lap so I can get us more coffee.

"I hope you go, I don't want you to be alone for thanksgiving"

"I'll have Bailey"

"You know what I mean"

"I know, it's just going to be too hard. You've seen how he is, he's grumpy and I think the amount of people is just going to make it worse. Plus, I don't really want to take him out in the cold."

"I know but it's Thanksgiving"

"When he wakes up, I'll ask what he wants to do."

"Good idea. I'm gonna go grab a shower, I need to leave soon."

"Noooooo" I say grabbing her hand and giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

"Awww are you gonna miss me?" She leans down so she's right in front of my face

"Maybe a little." She kisses me.

"I'll be back Monday"

"That's five whole days!" I say incredulously

"You're too cute" she says mocking me

"Yeah yeah. Go have a shower, I'm gonna check on Bailey" I wave her away.

* * *

Dani left not long after her shower and some cuddles with Bailey and I. He seems a bit more chipper this morning so I think we'll probably end up at my parents' tomorrow.

I'm midway through my laundry when Dani texts me.

From Dani:  
Just got to the airport, hope you're having a good day. I'll call you tonight xo

To Dani:  
Have a safe flight superstar x

I spent the rest of the day getting my housework done since we were going to be out all day tomorrow. She had only been gone half a day but by the time Dani calls me, I'm already wishing it was Monday.

"Hey baby"

"Hey, how was your flight?"

"Good, I read during most of it so it seemed super quick"

"That's good. Are your family excited to see you?" I wasn't sure if they knew about us, but I found myself curious now that she was there.

"Yeah my little brother has grown like a foot since I last saw him, I swear, he's not really my little brother anymore."

"I have the same problem with my niece, if she grows anymore she'll be towering over me in no time. How old is he?"

"He's 15. Is the little man feeling any better?"

"Yeah he's a lot better. I already decided we'll go tomorrow. He'll be upset if he misses out on a day of the whole family, he doesn't get to see them all together very often."

"Good, I'm glad you're going. Is it silly that I miss you already?"

"Nope. I miss you too. I spent the entire day cleaning so I didn't have to think about the fact I won't see you until next week and now I'm exhausted."

"Aww why don't you try to sleep, then we'll be one day closer. My mom wants me to help her get ready for tomorrow but I wanted to call and say hi"

"Mmkay. Have fun with your family tomorrow."

"You too baby. Have sweet dreams"

"I'll try. Good night"

"Night"

I hang up the phone, realizing it's about time I tell my family about Dani properly. They know I've been seeing someone but I try to avoid letting them in on my dating life unless I think it's going somewhere. The butterflies she gives me every day make me think she could be the one. I fall asleep that night with thoughts of us in the future running through my mind.

* * *

I was sitting in my office at home on Friday afternoon finalising reports that my boss suddenly decided he wanted by tomorrow. I'm pissed off, not only because he wants this done but he has also requested that I work tomorrow because he's leaving Sunday to go on his annual skiing trip. I'm not sure that should mean I work Saturday but whatever. Poor Bailey gets to come to work with me because my parents are leaving to go to Florida first thing in the morning. I decide to take a break and go out to get some coffee when I realise someone is knocking on my door. I had music playing so hopefully they hadn't been there long. I open the door and stop suddenly.

"What are you doing here?" I'm struck with déjà vu as I say that.

"Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?"

I pull her inside and kiss her hard and she melts in to my kiss.

As we pull apart, I repeat my question.

"I missed you." She answers.

"What about your family?"

"I can go back if you'd prefer?"

"No way, you're not going anywhere!" I pull her back and kiss her again.

"Mmm yep definitely missed you" she says

"Good. I was about to get some coffee, you wanna come with?"

"Yes please. Where's Bailey?" She looks around the apartment.

"At my mom's, he was enjoying playing with the cousins so I left him so I could get some work done. I have to go to work tomorrow" I pout and grab her hand as we leave.

"On a Saturday?"

"Yep, asshole boss thinks we need to catch up before he goes away for a month for the holidays."

"That sucks. And here I was thinking we'd get to spend another weekend together."

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you"

"You better" She says as we get in to the waiting elevator.

When we step on to the sidewalk, paparazzi surround us and start shouting

"Dani!"

"Is this your new girlfriend?"

"What happened with you and Becca?"

"Are you still friends?"

Dani grabs hold of me and pulls me down the street. A couple of them are still following us but Dani doesn't say anything. We run across the road just as the lights go green, leaving the paparazzi on the other side. Dani slows down a little and then starts ranting.

"Seriously?! Most days I can walk around without being bothered and the one day I decide to walk hand in hand with my girlfriend out of the building they have to be there. I'm so sorry San"

"Babe, relax, it's fine, I told you" I stop and get her to face me

"I know, I just really don't want to screw this up" She gestures between us. I pull her in to a hug.

"You're not gonna screw this up. Besides, even if you did, it's not going to be over something that's out of your control, okay?"

"Okay" She nods then kisses me.

"Let's get this coffee so we can go home and snuggle"

"Deal" She says grinning.

We're lying on the couch when I decide to tackle the thing that's been on my mind since we went for coffee earlier.

"Babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's Becca?" Dani sits up from her place and looks at me.

"Becca?"

"Yeah, the paparazzi said her name earlier. They were asking about the two of you."

"She's my ex."

"I figured that much" I say, trying not to sound irritated.

"She was the last serious relationship I had. We were on and off for a while, which I guess is why they keep bringing her up. "

"How long were you together?" I ask, not sure I want to know the answer.

"We were on and off for about 3 years all up." Oh

"What happened?"

"We never worked. We kept trying to push for something that wasn't there. We got together when I first got signed so she was there for all the big moments, it was comfortable, which I guess is why I kept going back. She wasn't the nicest person to be with." I relax slightly at this admission.

"Do you guys still talk?"

"She tries to get in contact every few months but most of the time I don't answer. It's easier that way."

"Am I going to need to fight her for you?" I joke which makes her smile.

"I would actually enjoy seeing that, but no, I'm done with that part of my life. I like this new chapter." She says and leans forward to kiss me.

"Me too" I say.

We settle back on the couch beside each other holding hands while her free hand runs up and down my arm.

"What time do you need to go to work tomorrow?"

"Not until 10 but I need to go and get Bailey from my mom's early because they need to be at the airport by 8:30"

"He's going to work with you?"

"Yeah, Michelle is still at her in-laws so it's too hard to find someone else."

"I can watch him"

"What?" I say moving to look directly at her face

"Don't sound so shocked. Remember what happened last time I offered?" She grins cheekily

"I know. I just meant, I hadn't really thought about that as an option."

"Why not? We get along. I promise not to fill him up with sugar before you get home."

"Really? You haven't really watched him alone before; he's not always so sweet and innocent"

"Of course. I love that kid. We'll be fine."

"That would make tomorrow run smoother, I can get everything at work done easier without him there" I say thinking out loud.

"Then it's settled."

"Thank you." I squeeze her hand.

"Anything for you" Dani says kissing me sweetly.

As she goes to pull away, I bring her back, kissing her more demandingly while snaking my hands around to her back. She responds to my kiss and moves so that she's straddling me, our kisses becoming more intense.

Dani moans in to the kiss as I move my hand up under her shirt to caress her bare skin. After a few more minutes of this, we both pull back for air, gazing in to each other's eyes, arousal clearly present.

"Bedroom?" I ask her

She jumps up and drags me towards my bedroom. When we get there she stops, letting go of my hand and turns back towards me. I can tell by the way she's looking at me that the confidence she felt a few minutes ago has faltered slightly.

"Come here" I say putting my hand out for her again.

She takes my hand and walks back to me staring down at our joined hands.

"We can wait, we don't have to do anything tonight" She looks up at me when I say this, surprise on her face.

"I don't want to wait. Do you?" I chuckle at this.

"I didn't want to wait in the first place, remember?" She laughs along with me and I can tell she's more relaxed again now.

She moves closer to me wrapping her arms around me nestling herself in to my neck.

"I want us to take the next step. I thought about this a lot while I was away."

"You spent your family time thinking about us getting it on?" I smirk at her

She looks up and pinches me softly.

"No, smartass, I know we've only known each other a short time but you're really important to me, you and Bailey. I really want this to work." I kiss her once she stops talking.

"Me too" She snuggles back in to my neck.

We stand there holding each other for a few minutes when Dani starts kissing my neck. She makes her way up and along my jawline before capturing my lips. As our kiss starts to heat up again, I move us back towards my bed. I climb backwards on to the bed so I'm kneeling in front of her, not breaking our kiss. My hands start moving all over her and I pull her shirt up and over her head. I stare down, taking in her perfect body.

"You're so beautiful" I tell her

She kisses me again and kneels on the bed with me, starting to undo my pants. I lean back from the kiss and pull my top off throwing it on the floor. Dani helps me out of my pants so I'm left in my bra and panties.

"You're wearing too much." I say while starting to pull her pants off for her.

When we come back together, our hands are all over each other, trying to touch every inch.

I lay her back on the bed and start kissing my way down her body. She moans softly as I get to her stomach, my hands running over the outside of her bra.

She sits herself up to take off her bra and I don't think I've ever been more nervous or excited for something in my life.


	11. Chapter 11

**I didn't intend to end the last chapter where I did but it was already super long!**

**This one is shorter than usual but the next chapter will be up over the weekend, promise!**

**Review review review :)**

**I own nothing. Except autographed photos of Demi and Naya 3**

* * *

_She sits herself up to take off her bra and I don't think I've ever been more nervous or excited for something in my life. _

Dani unfastens her bra, gliding the straps down her arms. Once she removes it, I move closer, kissing along the tops of her shoulders. Dani throws her head back giving me more access to her neck so I start nipping my way up to her jaw and eventually cover her mouth with my own. My hands have moved up along her stomach again and I start softly caressing her breasts.

I kiss my way back down her neck, taking my time until I get to her breasts. I start kissing the pale skin, alternating between the two, eventually taking a pebbled nipple into my mouth. Dani moaned out, pulling me closer. I have to keep myself from completely ravishing her there and then, I can't remember wanting someone more than I want her now.

"That feels so good San"

Her hand moves over my back, unhooking my bra. I pull back to grin at her.

"One handed? You've done that before"

"Beginner's luck" She quips

"Liar" She pulls the straps off and throws my bra across the room.

Dani starts kissing down my neck, mimicking what I had done to her a few minutes earlier. I can already feel my body responding to her. Her hands travel up my stomach and she starts playing with my nipples. I moan out in appreciation and feel my hips buck in to her desperate for more.

She flips our positions so she's on top of me and replaces her hands with her mouth, softly biting my nipple. I have to throw my head back, the sensation running straight to my core.

"Oh god"

She moves lower, her hands caressing the outside of my thighs, moving up to toy with the elastic waistband of my panties. I can see her hands shaking slightly, so I move myself up off the mattress trying to encourage her to keep going. She slides them over my hips and down my legs.

"Baby take yours off too"

She complies, leaving us both completely naked. She stares down at me, a look of admiration on her face.

"You are stunning"

I'm too busy staring at her to respond but I pull her back down to me and crash our lips together. Our hands are everywhere again, my hips rolling up into Dani's. She is massaging my breasts then breaks our kiss moving down my neck, nibbling and sucking. I'm pretty certain she's left a mark or two. She takes one of my nipples in to her mouth biting down roughly before soothing it with her tongue.

I can feel myself getting wetter as her kisses move over my abdomen, my muscles twitching under her movement.

"Dani, please" I moaned.

Her hands caress my thighs softly as she continues to kiss my stomach, her tongue dipping in to my belly button. Her body is stationed between my legs as her hands move further up my thighs getting closer to where I need her most.

She comes back up to kiss me, our tongues duelling as I moan in to the kiss. I'm not above begging and she's pushing me to my limits.

Before I get a chance to beg for a second time her hand slips between my legs, her fingers running up through my slit, tracing light circles around my clit before pinching slightly. I groan out realising that this isn't going to take long. She teases my clit a bit longer before moving to circle my entrance. I buck my hips and she enters me slowly with two fingers, letting me adjust.

"Oh my god" I moan out

I run my hands over her back, pulling her closer urging her to continue. Her pace starts slow moving inside me but it doesn't take long for her to start gaining speed, her thumb moving over my clit adding to the sensations.

My body is moving with her and it's not long before I can feel myself approaching orgasm. I break our kiss and start biting Dani's neck. I don't want to do this alone. My hands move around her body and start massaging her breasts again, a little rougher this time.

She moans out and I waste no time, moving my hand between us and into her wetness.

"You're so wet baby"

I run my hand up to her clit, pinching it between my fingers causing her to squeal and buck in to me.

She slows her movement, her fingers still inside me as I enter her with one finger. She's so tight but it doesn't take long before she adjusts and I insert another.

Once she's adjusted, I start thrusting and Dani starts moving inside me again her palm hitting my clit each time, our movements syncing as we gain speed.

We're both moaning out, our climaxes building as our mouths cover each other with sloppy kisses.

I can feel myself losing control but I'm determined to take Dani with me. We're both moving erratically, my thumb moving roughly over her clit as I curl my fingers. I feel her walls clamp my fingers, my orgasm brought on by the feeling. Our free hands find each other and we ride out our orgasms holding hands.

Once we've both come down, I remove my fingers and leave soft kisses all over her neck before kissing her deeply.

"You're so amazing" I tell her.

She removes her fingers from me then lies down on me, my arms wrapping around her to pull her as close as I can.

"Mmm you're amazing" She responds, her voice cracking slightly.

We relax in to each other stealing kisses and soft caresses.

It's a short time later when Dani starts nibbling on my neck, her intentions clear. This is going to be a long night and I can't wait.

* * *

Dani POV

Santana and I have woken up together many times over the last couple of weeks but nothing compares to this morning. I've been awake for about 20 minutes just watching her and thinking over last night. It was even better than I could have ever imagined. She starts to stir and I'm relieved because I was starting to miss her. This girl makes me such a sap.

"Morning beautiful girl"

She mumbles something that I think is "Morning" back with a scrunched up face.

She pulls me closer and buries her head in my neck.

God she's adorable.

"What time is it?" She asks once she's more awake.

"Around 7. What time do we need to get Bailey?"

"I told my Mom I would be there at 830"

"Why don't we have a quick shower then we can grab some breakfast on the way" She pulls back to look at me.

"You don't have to come with me; I can get Bailey and bring him back"

"Do you not want me to meet your parents?"

"No, not at all, I just wanted to make sure it's what you wanted." She says kissing me softly.

"I do, definitely. Besides, it seems silly for you to drive all the way out there and then back. We can drive together and then I can drop you at work on the way back through. The sooner I get you to work, the sooner I get you back" I kiss her again and then jump out of bed.

"Now let's go shower, I'm starving after last night." I say then head to the bathroom not giving her a chance to respond.


	12. Chapter 12

**I know to never promise ever again! So many apologies! I hope there are still people interested in reading :(**

**I work at a tourist attraction and Christmas & New Year is our busiest time so I just got smashed with work. Also my delay means that this chapter has sucky timing but I still wanted to do it anyway.**

**Happy New Year to all!**

* * *

We arrive at Santana's parent's house and my nerves start to kick in. I don't know why I thought this would be a good idea. She grabs my hand and it instantly calms me.

"You okay, babe?"

"Yeah" I smile at her.

We head up the front porch and before we get a chance to knock, the door opens and an older Latina woman is pulling us inside.

"Come come, it's cold out there"

"Mami, this is Dani. Dani this is my mother, Maribel"

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Lopez" I put my hand out intent on shaking hers when she pulls me in to a hug.

"Call me Maribel, sweetheart. Santana has told us all about you." I look to Santana who shakes her head while smiling.

We walk in to the kitchen where a man who I'm assuming is Santana's father is, with a teenage girl and Bailey.

"Carlos, Chelsea, this is Dani" They both turn towards me. Santana's father just smiles at me, while Chelsea looks surprised and like she's about to have a fit.

"Oh my god!" She looks to Santana, I'm guessing trying to figure out if she's seeing things.

"Chels, calm down, you're gonna scare the poor girl away" Santana says and then turns to me.

"Dani, this is my niece, Chelsea. She may or may not be a fan of yours."

"Fan? What are you talking about mija?" Carlos addresses Santana.

"I'm a musician. Chelsea must have heard of me." I decide to jump in.

"The entire country has heard of you! You're amazing!" The girl says excitedly.

"Thank you" I say, getting a little shy with all eyes on me. I think Santana picks up on this so she tries to ease some of my nervousness.

"Yes she's amazing, stop hitting on my girlfriend, kid and make me some coffee" We all laugh except for Chelsea who grumbles and then goes to prepare coffee for her aunt.

Chelsea then turns back to me smiling "Dani, do you want coffee?"

"Uhm.. sure thanks." As Chelsea makes the coffee, Santana heads over to Bailey who is sitting at the table colouring. I love how her face lights up at the sight of him and I stand just watching them interact until Maribel speaks to me again.

"When I said Santana told us everything about you, I was clearly very wrong" I don't know how to take that and it must show on my face.

"Oh not that it's a bad thing, you'd just think she would have mentioned that you were a big star."

"Oh I'm not..." Santana interrupts me then kissing my cheek.

"Don't listen to her Mami, she's amazing"

I can feel how red my cheeks are. It doesn't matter how long I've been doing this, I still get so embarrassed when people talk about me like that.

She grabs my hands and drags me towards the table "Come sit. What time is your flight?"

"We're leaving in about half an hour. Your father was just explaining everything Chelsea needs to do while we're away. Your brother will be bringing her over every day to look after the animals and water the plants"

"You better make sure Antonio stays with her, she'll probably try and burn your house down again" Santana says grinning.

"Shut up Tia, that was one time and it was an accident!" Chelsea responds and Santana just laughs.

"Santana, leave her alone, you know she is still sensitive about that." Maribel admonishes her daughter.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." She continues giggling to herself.

Chelsea brings the coffee over to the table, handing me mine with a smile. She puts Santana's in front of her roughly and then storms out of the room.

"Did she really nearly burn the house down?" I say to nobody in particular.

"No, she just put a paper cup in the microwave and it caught on fire. Obviously at the time it wasn't funny, but her reaction was golden, she was seriously running around the house screaming. By the time someone came to the kitchen to help her, it had already put itself out." Santana explains laughing to herself again.

"Aww she must have been terrified" I can see the funny side, but Chelsea is probably only 13 or 14 so I can imagine how that would freak her out.

We sit drinking our coffee chatting with Santana's parents for another 20 minutes or so before we prepare to leave.

"Dani, it was so lovely to meet you, you must come over again when we have more time to get to know you. What are your plans for Christmas?" Maribel asks. I look to Santana as we haven't really talked about any of that but she just shrugs at me.

"Well my family are going away so I'll probably just have a quiet one this year." I answer.

"Nonsense, you come here with us. I'm sure Chelsea will be talking about you for the next week so Santana's brother will want to meet you as well."

"I wouldn't want to impose"

"It's no imposition, we'll see you at Christmas" She says and pulls me in to a hug.

We say goodbye to her family and then head back in to the city. I'm a little nervous driving Santana's car, I'm a good driver but I'm always paranoid with someone else's car and I've never driven with someone so young in the car before.

"You don't have to come for Christmas; please don't feel like you have to, my mom can be a little full on." Santana says while running her hand over my knee.

"It's fine babe. I won't do anything you don't want me to do"

"There's nothing more that I want than to spend our first Christmas together, even if it is with my family"

"Really?" I grin at her.

"Really." She leans over and kisses my cheek.

We arrive at Santana's work and she turns to Bailey "Be good for Dani, okay buddy?"

"Yes mami" He says grinning.

"Last chance to back out" She says to me.

"No chance, we're gonna have an awesome day." She leans over to kiss me.

"Okay well I should only be a few hours but I have my cell if you need me."

"Call me and I can come and pick you up when you're done."

"Okay. Have a good day."

"Bye beautiful" I say to her before she shuts the door and makes her way into the building.

* * *

It's a few hours later and Bailey and I are watching a movie when I hear the front door start to open. I jump up, not expecting anyone but relax when I see it's Santana.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I said I'd come get you." I say walking over to meet her.

"I know but I was done earlier than expected so I just thought I'd get a cab so I could get home sooner" She hangs up her coat and wraps her arms around me.

"Hi" She kisses my nose

"Hi" I grab her and pull her to the couch.

"Mami!" Bailey climbs over me so he can hug Santana. "We got a fish!"

Santana looks over Bailey's head to me with wide eyes.

"Well.. technically yes, we did get a fish, but he's totally gonna live at my house so you won't have to do anything!" I say, realising I probably should have thought that decision through.

Bailey interrupts me.

"His name is Oliver!" He says getting excited.

"Oh really?" Santana says, looking at me with a smirk.

"Come see him, he's in my room!" Bailey says and jumps up dragging Santana with him.

She gets up to follow him and turns around to look at me before heading down the hall. I can't figure out how she feels about me buying Bailey a pet. I can be so bit stupid sometimes.

She comes back a few minutes later without Bailey and sits down next to me.

"I'm so sorry, I really should have asked you but we went shopping because I wanted to get some Christmas decorations and there was a pet shop and then we went in and I couldn't say no to him and I'm so sorry San" I say.

"Hey, it's fine. A fish is better than a puppy. But you know that there's no way he's going to let you take Oliver to your apartment, right?"

"Yeah I should've thought of that before setting the tank up in his room. I'll clean it though and I can come over and feed him."

"Relax. Let's get Bailey in to the routine and then you won't have to worry about feeding him and Bailey can help you clean the tank."

"Okay. So you're not mad?" I say, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

"Not at all baby. Did you get decorations?"

"Yeah I think I went a little bit crazy." She starts looking around for my shopping.

"Where are they?"

"At my apartment. There's a lot"

"Let's go see. I love Christmas" She says getting excited.

We get Bailey and go to my apartment. Since we got together, we haven't spent a lot of time here.

As we walk in, Santana eyes my shopping and starts laughing.

"Oh my god. You weren't kidding"

"Nope" I say blushing.

"So are you going to decorate your apartment?"

"I don't know, I didn't really think that far ahead. I'm an impulse buyer." I say shrugging.

"What about a tree?"

"I want a tree but I have no idea where to get one in the city"

"Let's go tree shopping tonight. They've already started selling them; I've seen two stalls in the last few days"

"How are we going to get two trees back here?"

"Why two trees?"

"Two apartments?"

"Oh.. yeah. Well.. what if we just decorate one apartment. We can just do your apartment."

"That's silly. We spend most of our time at your apartment. Besides, Bailey should have his own tree."

"Okay well, we already planned to spend Christmas together, what if we go buy a tree and decorate my apartment together? I think it's a great way to celebrate our first Christmas together. What do you think?"

It's such a simple gesture but I find myself tearing up anyway. It's been so long since I've got to have a proper Christmas.

"Sounds perfect." I say, pulling her over to me and kissing her deeply.

We pull apart as we hear rustling and look over to see Bailey looking through the shopping bags.

"Hey you, stop that and come over here" He looks up guiltily at his mami and comes over to where we're standing. Santana kneels down to his level.

"We're going to buy a Christmas tree tonight so we can get our apartment ready for Christmas. How does that sound?"

"Can Den come with us?" He asks looking up at me.

"Of course she can. She's going to help us decorate and spend Christmas with us this year."

"Really? Yay!" He says and jumps up to hug me.

Every time I think I've had the best 24 hours of my life, something else happens and I find myself so excited for what the rest of my future with this girl holds.


End file.
